Étienne d'Hastrel de Rivedoux was a general of the First French Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was born 4 February 1766 at Pointe-aux-Trembles in Quebec, which was then the British colony, Province of Québec, the son of an officer in the French military. His father had served in India during the Seven Years' War, and later in Quebec. The son of rural nobility, he attended the Royal Military School in Paris as a gentleman-cadet. After his graduation, Hastrel occupied several junior positions. During the French Revolution in 1789, and its subsequent political and social upheavals, he affirmed his loyalty to France. Described by his colleagues as naturally talented, quickly moved into the ranks of the general staff, filling increasingly important positions in several French field armies, including the Army of the Rhine, the Army of the Danube, the Army of Helvetia, and the Grande Armée. He also managed an autonomous division of engineers and sappers during the Peninsular War. After the Bourbon Restoration, he retained his titles and honors. He was recalled from retirement in 1830, during the July Revolution. He died 19 September 1846 at Versailles. Family Étienne d'Hastrel descended from a family of rural notables. He was the son of Christophe Claude d'Hastrel of Rivedoux, a second son of the Lord of Rivedoux, Pierre Bruno d'Hastrel. His mother, Marie Anne Lienard de Boisjoly married his father, Christophe Claude d'Hastrel, a gentleman from the Île de Ré, a small island off the coast of France near La Rochelle, on 12 February 1760 in Neuville. The senior d'Hastrel was a captain in the Languedoc Regiment, in a company of grenadiers. He participated in the siege of Pondicherry in the Seven Years' War. Etienne d'Hastrel's elder brother, Jacques Bruno D'Hastrel, ecuyer (equerry), Chevalier, and Lord of Rivedoux, was a Knight of the Order of Saint Louis. Upon their father's death in 1782, he inherited the family estates and titles. Etienne Hastrel was married twice, first in 1796 to his cousin Marie-Josephe d'Hastrel Rivedoux (b. 1767), who died 18 January 1801. He married later to an Alsatian, Louise Zäpffel or Zöpffel, the sister of Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke. He and his second wife had a son, Adolphe Hastrel de Rivedoux (1805–1875), artillery captain and traveler, but best known as a painter and print maker. Military career Étienne d'Hastrel was admitted to the Royal Military